Breathless (67 page)

New York Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling Author

Copyright and License Information

Copyright © 2014 Aleatha Romig

Published by Romig Works

2014 Edition

Edited by Lisa Aurello

All rights reserved. No part of this novella may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

2014 Edition License

This eBook novella is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the appropriate retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

A Beginning Note from Aleatha

Dear Readers,

If this is your first venture into the Consequences series, welcome! I hope you enjoy this novella. Please know that A PEEK BEYOND THE CONSEQUENCES occurs after most events in the Consequences series takes place. This is a fun ride into the future of a family that had a very dark and unusual beginning.

After you read A PEEK BEYOND THE CONSEQUENCES, if you’d like to get to know Tony and Claire better, I suggest you begin at the beginning with Consequences. The series consists of the following:

Book #1: Consequences

Book #2: Truth

Book #3: Convicted

Book # 4: Revealed

And for more insight, there are also two alternate POV companions:

Book # 1.5: Behind His Eyes Consequences

Book # 2.5: Behind His Eyes Truth

If you are a reader of the Consequences series and are rejoining Tony and Claire for a peek into their future, please sit back and enjoy! As you know, it took these two souls a long time to get to this point in their lives and their relationship. I think they deserve some fun; there was enough angst in the beginning to last them both a lifetime. Oh, who am I kidding? I enjoy giving you and them a little angst too.

Sit back and enjoy this novella: A PEEK BEYOND THE CONSEQUENCES.

Sincerely,

Aleatha

DISCLAIMER

The CONSEQUENCES series contains dark adult content. Although excessive description and detail are not used, the content contains innuendos of kidnapping, rape, and abuse—physical and mental. If you’re unable to read this material, please do not purchase. If you can enter this world of fiction, welcome aboard and enjoy the ride!

Chapter 1

Late December 2016

Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands.

—Jeff Cooper

CLAIRE GENTLY SMOOTHED Nichol’s fine, dark hair so as to not disturb her daughter as she slept with her head upon her mother’s lap. With the drone of the engines filling the cabin of the airplane, Claire sighed contentedly, taking in the unusually full cabin. Never could she remember their private plane being occupied by this many people. There was a time when this would never—could never—have happened. However, that was long ago, a distant memory. Now, things were different, and their family and friends were together.

Though the trip back to Iowa from their South Pacific island was not yet finished, they’d been flying for what seemed like days. Sometime during the still of night, with her mother’s patience and soothing, Nichol lost her valiant fight against sleep. Succumbing to the heavy lids, Nichol’s dark brown eyes, those that matched her father’s, disappeared behind thick lashes. Claire glanced toward her husband to find that his eyes too were uncharacteristically closed, and his chin bobbed near his chest. After all the turmoil that the Rawlings family had endured over the last few years, the serenity of the plane ride nearly brought Claire to tears.

Tony, Claire, and Nichol were sharing the flight home on their private plane with their only family: Claire’s sister, Emily, brother-in-law, John, and nephew, Michael. Michael’s little body lay contentedly near Nichol’s. Their heads rested at each end of the long sofa-like seat, on each of their mother’s laps. During their battle with sleep, the two children vied for their own space, often behaving more like siblings than cousins. Now, with the battle behind them, they rested peacefully, with the other near. Their closeness was to be expected after the way they’d grown up.

Sometimes, memories such as those would make Claire sad. The years lost were gone, never to be recaptured. However, she’d come to realize that she could spend her time mourning that loss or concentrate on the future. Seeing the children, hearing their excited squeals as they played together on the white sand in paradise, or watching their uncensored interaction, Claire decided the future was the best place to devote her energy: too much time had been lost in the past. She wasn’t willing to allow it any more.

Before she could give it much more thought, her husband was beside her, his large hand covering hers as they both gently caressed their daughter’s head. With her thoughts in paradise—its tropical beauty—and on the children, coupled with the distracting drone of the engines, Claire hadn’t noticed Tony awaken or move from his earlier reclined seat.

“She finally gave in? It was about time,” he whispered.

Despite her fatigue, Claire smiled as Tony knelt beside them. Keeping her voice low, she replied, “Well, she does seem to have a stubborn streak.”

Tony’s dark brown eyes glistened knowingly.

“But,” Claire continued, “she did finally give in. She’s been asleep for a few hours, just like someone else I know.”

“Why don’t you let me take your place, and you go lay a chair back and get some sleep?”

Claire shook her head. “I don’t want to let her go, not even for a few hours.”

Small lines appeared near the corner of Tony’s eyes as his cheeks rose. “She’s not going anywhere and neither are you, except to get some much needed rest. This holiday in paradise has been fantastic, but soon we’ll all be home. You need rest too.”

“Oh, Tony,” Claire’s whisper rose in volume. “It was so wonderful having everyone together. I’m glad we were all there to celebrate Nichol’s birthday as well as Christmas. It was everything I’d hoped and more.” Tears teetered on her lids, threatening to coat her cheeks. “I can’t believe our daughter’s really three! I just wish—”

As she lowered her eyes, Tony lifted her chin. Kissing her lips, he interrupted her words. “I think we’ve learned that we can’t wish away the past. Instead, we need to enjoy each moment we have.”

Looking around the cabin, Claire confirmed their cloak of privacy. It was one created not by solitude, but by the sleeping state of the other passengers. Behind Emily, who was separated from Claire by the children, were John, Courtney, and Brent. Their children, Caleb, Julia, and Maryn, had all taken a different plane, as had Meredith, Jerry, and their children. Nodding, Claire continued her thought. “I wasn’t going to wish away our past. I know there are more than a few people who think I should. I was going to wish for more times like we just had. The time on the island, surrounded by family and friends, was amazing. I’ve always loved the security of the island. There’s something about being there that gives me peace.”

“Could that something be Madeline and Francis?”

Claire thought about that. The caretakers of the island were definitely unique, comforting people. From the first time she met them, she was lulled into their loving aura. “I don’t know. I think it’s more our memories there. Those months were some of the best of my life. Those were the memories I relived over and over after I...”

It wasn’t Tony who interrupted her thoughts: it was Claire herself. She reached up and stroked Tony’s scratchy, stubbly cheek. Momentarily, she imagined the abrasiveness on more sensitive skin. With a glint in her green eyes, she continued, “It was there that we learned to truly trust one another.”

“Do you want to stay there? Do you not want to go home?”

“No!” Claire resumed her whisper. “I do want to go home. For the first time since I can remember, I want to be in Iowa in the winter. I want to build snowmen and make snow angels. I want to teach Nichol to love all the seasons: the warm and cold, the good and bad. They’re all important. Ones we enjoy less make us appreciate the ones we adore more. I want to be there as she experiences each and every moment. Like when she saw the island and we explained that it was where she was born. Like when she met Madeline and Francis. I’m excited to hold her mitten-covered hand as we see the lake covered with ice. Emily said that she’s never ice-skated. I’ve already ordered all of us skates.”

The sides of Tony’s lips moved upward. “All? Ha.” He shook his head playfully from side to side.

Claire’s brows rose in question.

Tony explained. “Though I recently lost my appreciation for winter, your excitement may help me learn to embrace the cold as well, but ice-skate? I think you have more faith in my abilities than I do. I’ve never in my life ice-skated.”

“Then, Mr. Rawlings, I’d say it’s time you learned.”

Looking from his wife to his daughter and back, Tony shrugged. “I suppose it is.”

Leaning closer, Claire’s lips grazed his. “I like that.”

Tony pressed forward and deepened their kiss. “I like that too,” he said with a devilish grin.

“Not
that
…although, I’m not complaining.”

“What then? What do you like?”

“The Anthony Rawlings who’s willing to learn new things and see new perspectives.” Claire’s green eyes shone through the dimmed cabin.

“Oh, Mrs. Rawlings, it’s true that I much prefer being the teacher, but I’ve learned many things since I brought you into my life. I’m up for learning more.”

Claire snickered as she eyed their friends and family. “Now is not a good time to be
up
.”

“No.” He shook his head. “It isn’t. Now is a good time for you to get some rest. Let me sit with Nichol and you go lie back in one of the chairs.”

Though Claire was about to protest, she realized that not only was Tony concerned about her well-being, he wanted to spend time with their daughter too. No longer were his dark eyes focused on her, but on Nichol, as the tips of his fingers lightly caressed her exposed pink sun-kissed cheek. When he once again looked up, Claire saw in his eyes the sadness she’d been feeling, the sense of time lost with no way to retrieve it. The look was only there for a millisecond and then it was gone, replaced with a conscious expression of authority. He’d told her that he wanted her to switch places, to get some sleep. At first, it may have been phrased like a question, but that was only for her benefit. At one time, Tony’s change in tenor and expression would have filled her with dread; that time, too, was long gone. Some memories were better left sleeping.

Claire concentrated on the micro-expression of sadness, the one she knew Tony wanted to hide. Not because he didn’t want to be honest, but because he didn’t want to feel the pain or add fuel to Claire’s sense of loss; nevertheless, she took it in. The expression didn’t make her pain worse. On the contrary, it eased it. They both had lost too much time. It was another one of their common bonds and shared goals. Together they’d work to fill the future with enough hope and love to overcome the past.

Summoning her smile, Claire nodded and acquiesced, “All right.”

Lightly kissing Tony’s lips, she lifted Nichol’s head and they simultaneously moved, as they’d done so many times, instinctively knowing the other’s action. This time they worked in unison to not disturb their sleeping daughter. Within moments, Tony was sitting with Nichol serenely snuggled into his lap. “She’ll be fine,” Tony whispered. “Now go—rest.”

“I know she will be.” Stroking Tony’s arm, she whispered, “There’s nowhere that I feel safer than in your arms. She’ll know that feeling too. The way she just sighed, I’m pretty sure she already does.”

Tony’s dark eyes shone, taking in both of his ladies. “I wish we were home in our big bed so I could hold both of you.”

“Me too,” Claire admitted. “But I’ll settle for watching the two of you from over there, until I fall asleep.”

Before Claire could walk away, Tony reached for her hand. “Mrs. Rawlings, we can go back to paradise anytime you need that feeling of security. You just say the word, and we’ll be in the air.”

“Thank you. I may take you up on that. But if I do, it’s because I love the island, and I love Madeline and Francis, not because I need to be there to feel that way. Honestly, with you and Nichol, Eric and Phil, I know I’m safe. I know Nichol is safe. Besides…” She added with a snicker. “…it’s difficult to make snowmen in the South Pacific.”

Tony grinned. “Hmmm, I think sand angels sound more appealing than snow ones.”

She squeezed his hand before making her way back to an empty seat beside John. As she buckled her seatbelt, Claire glanced back to see Tony’s eyes close. No longer did she see sadness or even the need to control. She saw peace: a quiet, accepting peace, as his fingers brushed Nichol’s fine hair. Contentedly, she followed suit and drifted off to sleep with visions of sand angels dancing through her dreams.

***

WITH SNOW FALLING, the tired friends bid each other goodbye as their luggage was loaded into various cars at the Rawlings Industries private airstrip. While Eric and Phil warmed the car, Claire helped Nichol secure her winter coat, hat, and gloves.

“Momma?” Nichol asked. “Do you like warm or cold better?”

Claire giggled. “Oh, honey, I like warm.” Remembering her wish, she added, “But that doesn’t mean I don’t like cold.” She lifted her face to the sky. “Look how beautiful these snowflakes are. See how they shine and glisten?”